This invention relates to a mud flap assembly for tractor-trailer and straight-body trucks, and more particularly to a self-supporting, spray-suppressing mud flap for such trucks.
The utilization of mud flaps on dual wheel vehicles such as tractors, trailers, etc., has long been required to protect near-by vehicles from debris thrown up by the truck tires. During wet and rainy road conditions however, the prior mud flaps tend to produce a lateral outboard spray of water. Such a lateral spray from these large trucks detrimentally effects the visibility of near-by vehicles thereby increasing the potential danger of wet road conditions.
The occurrence of lateral spray from these large, dual-wheel trucks is a recognized safety hazard and consequently, recent federal legislation in the form of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 imposes the requirement that these trucks be equipped with splash and spray-suppressing devices.
In attempting to suppress lateral water spray, some of the prior mud flaps employ a dispersing or textured flap surface facing the tires. One such textured surface mud flap is sold under the trade mark "Spray Guard" by Monsanto Company of St. Louis, Mo. and utilizes a surface similar to artificial turf for spray suppression. Other textured surface mud flaps utilize a dispersing pattern molded into the mud-flap surface.
The textured surface mud flaps exhibit several significant shortcomings such as susceptibility to snow and ice accumulation and increased loading on the mud-flap mounting bracket assembly so as to damage existing bracket assemblies or require the use of specialized, heavy-duty bracket assemblies. Inherently, the textured surface provides projections which facilitate the initial adherence of snow or ice to the mud flap which in turn provides an irregular surface for the adherence of more snow and ice. The weight of accumulated ice and snow can cause excessive loading on the mud flap and on the bracket assembly causing damage to the mud flap and/or bracket assembly. The additional weight of accumulated ice and snow also reduces the operating efficiency of the truck. The use of surfaces similar to artificial turf for spray suppression also increases the gross weight of the mud flap so as to require specialized, heavy-duty bracket assemblies.
Other spray-suppressing devices such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,869,617 to Gaussoin et al. require costly and involved frames and mounting brackets which appear fragile and impractical for the demands of tractor-trailer truck operation and maintenance. U.S. Pat. No. 3,743,343 to Grote, Sr., et al. shows a similarly involved spray-suppression device.
Additionally, the mounting assemblies for both spray-suppressing and nonspray-suppressing mud flaps have significant shortcomings. Generally, the mud flap is connected along its upper edge to a horizontal support rod or to the underbody of the truck so as to hang freely therefrom. By such mounting, the mud flap exhibits undesirable "sailing" during truck operation. Moreover, in tractor-trailer truck applications, the mounting assemblies and mud flaps are susceptible to damage during vehicle operation as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,862 to Sherman wherein a specialized heavy-duty, pivotal mounting bracket is disclosed to alleviate the occurrence of such damage to the mud-flap and the mounting assembly. Certainly, the replacement and repair of mounting bracket assemblies and mud flaps result in undesirable labor and maintenance expense.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mud-flap assembly for truck vehicles that effectively suppresses lateral spray to foster vehicle safety and that obviates the foregoing and related disadvantages.
Another object of the invention is to provide a spray-suppressing mud flap that is laterally mounted to the frame rail of a truck for easy and economical installation and replacement.
A further object of the invention is to provide a spray-suppressing mud flap that prevents detrimental snow and ice accumulation thereon.
Another object of the invention is to provide a spray-suppressing mud-flap and mounting assembly that is economical to manufacture, durable and long lasting in use, and of universal size to fit a wide range of truck vehicles and wheel positions.
Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out in more detail hereinafter.
Accordingly, it has been found that the foregoing objects and advantages can be readily attained in a spray-suppressing mud-flap assembly having a sheet element with opposed forward and rearward surfaces and being adapted for mounting aft of the truck tires so that its forward surface faces forwardly toward the tires. The sheet element has opposed inboard and outboard sides, a planar upper mounting portion, a flared middle portion, and a lower portion. The flared middle portion forms a flaired concave air guiding surface in the forward surface of the sheet element that opens inwardly and rearwardly to direct air inboard of the truck. A first blade member for stopping water and spray from passing upwardly over the top of the sheet element extends across the planar upper portion between the inboard and outboard sides and protrudes forwardly from the forward surface of the sheet element. A second blade member for stopping water and spray from passing outwardly from the outboard side of the sheet member extends along the outboard side of the sheet element and protrudes forwardly from the forward surface of the sheet element. The forward surface of the sheet element is smooth so as to prevent the adherence of snow and ice. The sheet element with the first and second blades is of unitary molded construction.
A mounting bracket for mounting the mud-flap sheet element to the frame rail of a truck includes a first leg section rigidly connected to the planar upper mounting portion of the sheet element so as to extend laterally from the inboard vertical side thereof. A second leg section is adapted for rigid connection to the frame rail of a truck so that the mud flap sheet element is positioned aft of the vehicle tires.